Chapter 37: BWCGD

Chapter 37

“Eek! Sorry! I told you not to hide in the hay like that... Hm?”

The body that had been floating in the air was gently set back down on the ground.

Dwayne had been carrying a bundle of hay when someone suddenly rolled out of it. He had already been startled enough, and seeing the blood smeared all over the person's face left him horrified.

'There's no way this guy is one of my knights!'

Dwayne stared blankly at the person fluttering before him like a sheet of paper, then furrowed his thick brows.

“Where did you crawl out from, you bag of bones?”

Evelyn pressed her lips together awkwardly.

Apparently, this man did not think she was the Grand Duke's fiancée—or even a woman.

'I can't really blame him...'

The estate in the capital and the training grounds were very far apart.

Since she usually stayed inside the mansion, she had almost no chance to meet the knights.

On top of that, she had changed into leather pants and a loose-fitting tunic she had found in the baggage wagon.

With her hair tied up roughly and hidden beneath a black fur hat, no one would think she was the Grand Duke's fiancée.

“N-Nice to meet you, Sir Dwayne.”

Though he looked at her with obvious suspicion, Evelyn did not back away.

She stepped closer with the friendliest smile she could manage.

“This must be very surprising... but I am Evelyn, the woman who has promised her future to His Grace the Grand Duke.”

At that moment, everything fell silent.

It was not only the two of them who froze.

The knights who had been watching the confrontation with interest slowly widened their eyes in shock.

“Gasp!”

Gasps echoed from every direction, and Dwayne's eyes flew open as he took a large step backward as though he had seen a ghost.

“P-Please don't be startled!”

Evelyn carefully approached him as though trying to calm an angry bear.

Then she added calmly,

“I saw you at the training grounds before. The way you commanded your troops with such charisma left a deep impression on me. That's how I learned your name.”

Faced with the perfectly timed compliments, Dwayne raised his thick eyebrows as sharply as his growing suspicion.

Everyone knew that Evelyn Lawrence's mother—the Countess of Lawrence—had been exiled for practicing wicked sorcery.

The daughter of a villainess who had brought great disaster upon the Empire.

Since Dwayne did not know that the future Grand Duchess was actually an illegitimate child, he naturally remained wary of Evelyn.

'So she charmed my lord with that elegant and lovely face!'

Her beauty was so pure and graceful that one might mistake her for a spirit.

Yet beneath that appearance smoldered a captivating sensuality.

But Dwayne had even withstood the mind-controlling attacks of a succubus.

There was no way he would fall for such underhanded tricks.

'As if I'd be fooled!'

When her family fell into decline, she had supposedly sought greater power by seducing his lord.

If Benjamin and Max had shared his opinion, he would have had grounds to persuade his lord.

However, neither of them held any grudge against the young woman.

Whatever reason she had for wishing to become a member of the North, once their lord had accepted her, they believed her background no longer mattered.

Dwayne, however, thought differently.

The Richter family had served the Johansen family for generations.

His loyalty belonged to his lord—and to House Orpheus itself.

'What if the daughter of that villainess inherited her mother's wicked powers and plots something?'

'They're all far too soft!'

Dwayne clenched his teeth.

“My apologies. I'll be on my way.”

Just as he turned away with a curt reply, his expression suddenly changed as though he had witnessed something unbelievable.

“What are you doing?”

“Just a moment, Sir.”

Without asking permission, Evelyn grabbed the edge of his clothes and quickly removed the gauntlet made from monster hide before he could react.

“How dare you...!”

Born a warrior, Dwayne instinctively disliked being touched without permission.

He reflexively raised his hand high, intending to strike away the tiny hand that was less than half the size of his own.

But he could not.

“...What is this?”

The moment her hand touched the bare skin beneath the removed gauntlet, an unfamiliar pale green aura began to spread.

A strange warmth filled him, so comforting that his whole body relaxed.

Dwayne's shoulders trembled.

“Please don't misunderstand, Sir.”

Seeing him flinch, Evelyn tightened her grip on his arm as though soothing an angry beast.

“I have no ill intentions. I'm only trying to heal your injury.”

“Heal...?”

She answered calmly.

“Yes. I possess the power to heal. The day His Grace visited the County... I was the one who calmed his berserk state.”

“You're saying your healing powers worked on my lord?”

“Yes.”

Dwayne pressed his lips together and frowned.

He still looked unconvinced, but Evelyn did not bother explaining further.

He would find out eventually.

“More importantly... you were injured this badly, yet you never used purification medicine. That was an unnecessary display of stubbornness.”

Dwayne was a man with a strong sense of responsibility.

He had given the scarce purification medicine to the lower-ranking knights, while neglecting his own wounds.

Part of it was because he trusted his strong body too much.

But more than anything, the Empire simply failed to provide enough supplies.

'Even so... leaving it untreated until the wound started to rot...'

If Evelyn's memories were correct, Dwayne would soon lose his left arm.

It would all be because he had failed to treat a monster-inflicted wound in time.

'I'll check on him whenever I can from now on.'

She was glad she had tested whether her healing powers worked on other people.

If she had backed away in fear at the temple, she never would have had this opportunity.

Although the attempt had left her with a splitting headache, she could now help many people.

There could hardly be a better outcome.

“So please, take care of yourself.”

Looking at the wound that was already beginning to regenerate, Evelyn reminded him once more.

“His Grace truly needs your strength.”

She picked up the gauntlet from the ground and placed it into Dwayne's large hand.

“If you neglect yourself and end up seriously injured, His Grace will be the one put in a difficult position. Well then...”

Even in that brief moment, she noticed it.

A complicated expression had crossed Dwayne's face.

Compared to the past, when he would grind his teeth like an enraged beast every time he saw her, this was tremendous progress.

'Yes. For now, this is enough.'

After giving him a silent nod, Evelyn quietly stepped away.

* * *

Some time later.

When Kallian finally returned to the campsite, the first thing he saw was the same quiet forest as when he had left.

Nothing seemed unusual.

And yet the calm expression around his eyes gradually shifted.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his heart pounded as though it might burst.

Even the appearance of the highest-ranked monsters had never stirred his heart like this.

'She truly is an extraordinary woman.'

Moreover, it was the first time the Guardian's Mark had reacted to something, leaving him unusually on edge.

'One unexpected variable after another.'

How should he describe the emotions that had boiled inside him at the mere thought that something might harm her?

A breeze swept past, cooling the heat raging within him.

As he brushed back his windblown hair with a sigh, someone approached from behind.

“You've worked hard.”

“Mm.”

Kallian accepted the damp towel Max offered and casually looked around as he walked.

Everything appeared the same as always.

The haystacks arranged in a circle.

The bonfire blazing fiercely in the center.

The noisy men clinking their cups together.

Everything was familiar.

Yet something bothered him.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort, he wiped the sweat from his face while scanning his surroundings.

Everything looked normal.

Yet the atmosphere felt different.

What exactly is bothering me?

After thinking for a moment, Kallian asked Max, who was following behind him,

“What about dinner?”

“We had a simple—”

“I wasn't asking about you.”

“Ah...!”

Countless possibilities flashed through Max's mind in that brief exclamation.

At last, Kallian realized the source of his unease.

It was Evelyn's absence.

Running a hand through his hair, he asked,

“Where is Evelyn now?”

“She went out for a short walk. She said the scenery nearby was beautiful and wanted to take a look around...”

“So don't tell me you let her go alone without assigning even a single escort.”

“W-Well... we thought it would be safe since there are no monsters in the Empire...”

“Damn it!”

The forest air seemed to turn colder.

Max instinctively straightened his posture.

“I'll bring her back safely right away!”

“Forget it. I was a fool for trusting you. Secure the perimeter first. There may be an ambush.”

Did she leave?

Finding the woman should have been easy.

He still had the tracking spell he had placed on her.

With feet that small, how far could she possibly have gone?

Thinking it was no big deal, he headed toward the clearing where the horses had been tied.

Then he stopped abruptly.

'The ring.'

The spoils they had obtained from the fifth floor of the Bellatra Dungeon.

A ring crafted from a Dream Magic Stone, an item so valuable that it could not be measured in money.

It was on her finger.

The problem was that the moment someone wore that ring, they became immune to all kinds of abnormal conditions and curses.

He had given it to her before she infiltrated the temple so she would be protected from any unforeseen danger.

'Then it must have nullified my tracking spell as well.'

The moment Kallian realized that, his expression turned frighteningly cold.